Ghost
by Dior Crystal
Summary: Just when Gokudera thought he had lost his chance, Yamamoto returns. Which should have been all fine and dandy if not for one thing; Yamamoto is now a ghost. Brilliant. Just, brilliant. AU. 8059.


Today was like any other day for a certain teenager named Gokudera Hayato. He woke up, he got ready, he had breakfast, he went to school and studied, he hung out with Tsuna, school ended and now he was at a nearby park, having his usual cigarette. Gokudera inhaled deeply as he took a particularly long drag from his cancer stick, and then blew out the smoke, not caring at all about the fact that his companion was not a smoker. His companion, Yamamoto Takeshi, did not seem to mind very much, though.

There was only one thing about this day that made it seem abnormal. Well, abnormal by normal standards, at least, because Gokudera was so used to this that he could hardly call this abnormal anymore. What was abnormal was now normal.

So, what was it about this day that made it abnormal?

It was because he was hanging out with Yamamoto.

"Ha ha! Gokudera should really slow down on those cigarettes!" Yamamoto said in his cheerful way.

Another long drag.

No, it was not the fact that he was hanging out with Yamamoto that made it unusual, really.

"I can do whatever I fucking want."

Rather, it was the fact that-

Sweatdrop. "Gokudera is so stubborn!" Yamamoto said laughingly, only to have Gokudera ignore him pointedly. But Yamamoto just smiled at him almost fondly, not really minding the way that Gokudera was acting; he had known him long enough to know how the silver-haired teen was like. Chuckling, Yamamoto reached out to pat Gokudera on the head...

... only to have his hand literally go right through him.

The act made the Italian shiver, suddenly feeling cold. The cigarette slipped from between his fingers and fell to the ground.

-Yamamoto Takeshi was supposed to be dead.

* * *

><p>You see, Yamamoto Takeshi was a ghost. He just died about three months ago, and had been wandering around on his own for about a week until Gokudera stumbled across him by chance. Gokudera supposed that if it had been anyone else, they would have freaked out and would have believed that they were either going insane (if they knew that Yamamoto was dead) or that they were seeing things.<p>

He was not going to lie; it had freaked him out a heck of a lot at first and hell, it took him awhile to believe that what he was seeing was not a hallucination. Normally, he would have been ecstatic to be able to encounter a ghost, but since this was Yamamoto... it was a whole different story.

Gokudera tossed the already used cigarette into the trash can.

Ever since he met Yamamoto again, Gokudera had been spending most of his free time with him. He was so used to hanging out with the teen ghost that he could call it normal; again, what was abnormal was now normal. At least, normal to him. Heck, he was the only person that Yamamoto spent his time with. But that was probably because for some unexplainable reason, Gokudera was the only person that was able to see him.

He walked over to the bench and sat on it. Yamamoto did the same, choosing to sit next to him. And still, Gokudera ignored him.

"Is Gokudera still mad that I made you drop your last stick of cigarette?"

No answer. He merely glanced at him coolly, ignoring the way his heart skipped a beat when he did.

When Yamamoto died, Gokudera felt like the ground had disappeared under his feet, making him plunge into darkness, pulling him in. The fall was cold and lonely, and it ate away at him, right to his very bones. He did not know what to do. He had always been alone, but he was used to that. This was a new sort of emptiness. One that he did not like. He did not know how long he had been walking around aimlessly, looking lost, the hole in his heart unable to be filled. Well, he did know, but it felt much longer than that. Many tears had been shed alone, none of them held or caressed by the one he wanted to make them go away.

Because the one he wanted to do that for him was gone.

Gokudera was... he was in love with Yamamoto Takeshi.

And before Yamamoto died, they were supposed to meet up. Gokudera still remembered how anxious he had been waiting for Yamamoto to show up; it was not like Yamamoto to be late. But of course, he had spent his entire time waiting cursing Yamamoto to oblivion, saying things like, "If that bastard does not show up in five minutes, I'm leaving!" and not leaving at all, faithfully staying at their meeting place with no intention of leaving. The moment he had heard a commotion going on nearby, his feeling that something had gone wrong was proven correct.

Gokudera remembered how he had run towards the crowd, his heart in his mouth as he pushed through the throng of people. What he had seen that day made his blood run cold.

"_Ya... __Yamamoto...?" __Gokudera __said __in __disbelief._

He closed his eyes, trying to push back the memory.

The memory of a blood-splattered roadway, of Yamamoto...

"_Yamamoto!"__he __screamed._

So much blood...

He reached up and rubbed his temple, then his eyes with the back of his hands. Then he felt it; something warm and wet leaking out of his eyes.

Yamamoto Takeshi had died trying to save a child from getting hit by a truck. Typical. It was just so like him to do something like that. And Gokudera could not hate him for that. Never.

He wiped the tears away hurriedly.

Something like that was not easy to forget. The memory haunted him in his dreams, and he would always wake up in cold sweat. As much as he would have liked to deny it, there was no denying who that face belonged to. He knew that face as well as he knew his own.

"_Yamamoto!"_

_The body, covered with a white sheet now stained with blood, was placed on a stretcher._

"_Move __it, __kid, __make __way __for __the __stretcher."_

So when he had seen Yamamoto again, about a week later, looking exactly like he did before the accident, Gokudera nearly jumped out of his skin. The only difference was that Yamamoto was grey in colour and slightly transparent. Gokudera had thought that he was seeing things. And Yamamoto, who had felt Gokudera staring at him, looked straight at him. What happened after that consisted of Gokudera thinking that he was going insane and Yamamoto desperately trying to convince him that he was not seeing things, that this was real. This carried on for another week before Gokudera was finally able to accept the truth.

And once he accepted the truth, it felt like the weight in his heart was lifted. Yamamoto was back. He was back. The Italian had been so happy that he nearly cried all over again, and in front of Yamamoto too, but thank goodness he did not, or it might have sent Yamamoto back to the grave from pure shock. Though Yamamoto was not completely back, he was here. Gokudera could not touch him, but he was able to see him and speak to him again. And that was good enough for him. It was selfish feeling this way, because Yamamoto was not supposed to be here, amongst the living, but Gokudera could not help it.

He was only human.

It is only natural to want to see someone important to you that you have lost, isn't it?

When asked why was he still around, Yamamoto would always respond that he did not know, that he just knew that he had some "unfinished business" to attend to. What sort of unfinished business that the baseball player had, Gokudera Hayato had no idea. At first, Gokudera thought that since Yamamoto was supposed to meet up with him, _that_ was his "unfinished business", but apparently not. They had been hanging out for months, and Yamamoto showed no sign of disappearing. All Gokudera knew was that it had nothing to do with him. If it had to do with him, Yamamoto would have long moved on to wherever he was supposed to go.

Gokudera bit his bottom lip and glanced at Yamamoto.

Yamamoto was trying to make a pebble levitate, without much success. The pebble wobbled and stilled. He had been doing that a lot lately; trying to make things levitate. Gokudera had no idea why Yamamoto wanted to do that, but he supposed that it was to make up for the fact that he could no longer touch anything without going right through them. Yamamoto's eyebrows were knitted together in concentration as he attempted to make the pebble levitate, only to fail again. Gokudera almost felt sorry looking at him. He must have already seen Yamamoto do this for over a hundred times.

Throughout the whole time that they had been hanging out, not once did Gokudera confess his feelings to him.

What was wrong with him?

Here was his chance to tell him, and he could not even open his mouth to utter those three simple words. What was he, an idiot?

"Nn?" Yamamoto looked at him. "Is there something wrong, Gokudera?"

Gokudera opened his mouth. "I..."

The ghost patiently waited for him to speak.

"I..." he struggled with the words.

Why was it so fucking difficult?

"Gokudera..."

He closed his eyes, then tried once more. "I..."

"'Dera..." Yamamoto said, his voice gentle. He reached out to touch his arm.

Gokudera stood up abruptly, stopping Yamamoto mid-action.

"I gotta go, Yamamoto," Gokudera murmured. "It's late. I need to do my homework."

"Ah." Hurt flashed across his eyes, but Yamamoto smoothed it over with a smile. "Okay! I'll see you tomorrow then, Gokudera!"

With his back turned to him, Gokudera waved his hand in acknowledgement.

Without so much as saying anything else or confirming that he would meet him tomorrow, Gokudera walked away from the ghost.

And he hated himself for it.

* * *

><p>During the next few days, Gokudera avoided meeting Yamamoto if he could help it. But that, of course, was near impossible because the ghost had taken a liking to going to school, just to see how things were going. So even if he managed to get through the day without talking to him, Gokudera would still be able to see the ghost walking around at some part of school. Usually, Gokudera could find Yamamoto standing at the field while people played baseball, watching the players play with a look of longing in his eyes. Even in death, Yamamoto could not be separated from his passion.<p>

"Gokudera Hayato. Are you listening?" the teacher called from the front.

"Yeah, yeah, I am."

Gokudera sighed and tore his gaze away from the window. From his seat by the window, he could see Yamamoto standing in the middle of the field. Since baseball practice had ended, the ghost was back to trying to make things levitate, as usual. Instead of trying to make a pebble levitate, he had moved onto making a baseball levitate. The ball actually hovered a few inches off the ground for a moment before falling down.

Yamamoto Takeshi...

If Gokudera had to pinpoint when exactly did he fall in love with Yamamoto, he would have to say that he had fallen for him the day his friend, Tsuna, brought him and a couple of other friends to meet a friend of his that just moved into Namimori.

And that friend was Yamamoto Takeshi.

The first time he met Yamamoto Takeshi, he did not think much of him. Even from Tsuna's earlier description of him, Gokudera did not think much of him. From the description alone, he had concluded that Yamamoto was nothing more than an ordinary guy with an ordinary name and ordinary interests. He did not really talk much to Yamamoto during their first meeting. All he had done was greet him, and that was it. He had not attempted to talk more to him. After chatting for awhile – or more like everyone else had chatted with each other – they had entered the cinema to watch a movie.

"_Tch. __This __movie __sucks,"__Gokudera __grumbled._

"_Really?" __Yamamoto __said, __"I __think __it's __a __good __movie."_

_As luck would have it, they were seated right next to each other, with Tsuna sitting next to Yamamoto._

"_Che," G__okudera __scoffed, __"What __would __you __know?" __He __was __in __a __bad __mood. __Whose __idea __was __it __to __make __this __place __as __cold __as __freaking __ice? __He __swore, __if __someone __did __not __turn __up __the __heat __in __here, __he __was __going __to __freeze __his __nuts __off. __He __shivered, __but __did __not __say __anything, __since __he __did __not __want __to __trouble __Tsuna._

_The shiver, though barely detectable, did not go unnoticed by Yamamoto._

_Because the next thing he knew, he felt a pair of hands place themselves on his shoulders. Yamamoto had taken off his jacket and placed it on Gokudera's shoulders._

"_There," __Yamamoto __said __kindly, __"You __need __it __more __than __I __do."_

_And just like that, Yamamoto went back to watching the movie like it was nothing, while Gokudera stared at him. After a moment or two, Gokudera tore his gaze away from Yamamoto, and pulled the jacket on._

"_Thank __you..." __he __murmured, __the __faintest __of __pinks __dusting __his __cheeks._

After the movie, everyone had gone back home. And that was it. Gokudera had thought that he would never see Yamamoto Takeshi again.

Oh, how wrong he was.

The next day had been a Monday, and Gokudera nearly fell out of his chair when their class teacher said that the name of their new classmate was "Yamamoto Takeshi". Gokudera had actually looked up from his book to make sure that he was not hearing things, and his gaze immediately met Yamamoto's. Yamamoto had smiled at him and waved, causing the Italian to look back down at his book, praying to God that Yamamoto did not see the blush on his face.

He should have known that Yamamoto would study at Namimori High School. Tsuna had actually mentioned it to him before, but it somehow slipped his mind.

Right after the introduction, Yamamoto had been made to take the empty seat next to Gokudera's. Even this year, Yamamoto had sat next to Gokudera. But now... He glanced at the seat next to his. That seat was now empty.

* * *

><p>Gokudera felt stupid for remembering such a memory.<p>

Yamamoto probably did not even remember it. Any of it.

* * *

><p>Lunch was awfully quiet. Tsuna sighed, not quite knowing what to say to his best friend, who had been rather subdued for the past week. Gokudera was poking at his food, silent. The brown-haired teen took a bite from his sandwich. He knew that Yamamoto's death hit Gokudera the hardest, no matter how hard the Italian tried to hide it. It was so obvious. But after awhile, Gokudera was back to being his normal self, faster than Tsuna had anticipated – he thought that Gokudera would grieve for much longer than two weeks. After all, the both of them were very close.<p>

Hm...

Yamamoto's death was three months ago.

Gokudera could not possibly be thinking about it again... Could he? He and Yamamoto were quite close...

"Gokudera?"

No response.

He touched Gokudera's shoulder. "Hey..." Tsuna said, "Are you okay?"

"Ah?" Gokudera looked up at him, then averted his gaze. "Uh, yeah, I am."

Lie.

"Hm..." Tsuna frowned at this, but did not press him for an answer. He knew that once Gokudera was ready, he would tell him. Gokudera just needed some time.

Another stretch of silence. Gokudera did not even attempt to start a conversation throughout their entire meal, making Tsuna think that he was not going to open up any time soon.

Tsuna was about to finish his sandwich when Gokudera suddenly spoke up.

"Tsuna?"

He turned to look at him. "Yes, Gokudera?"

Gokudera hesitated. "Have you..."

"Hm?" Tsuna tilted his head. "Have I what?"

A pause.

Then...

"Have you ever been in love before?"

...

"What?"

Gokudera looked down at his hands, feeling awkward. "Y-you see..." he said, his face flushed, "There is someone I like, but..."

"But...?" Tsuna prompted him to continue.

Gokudera took a deep breath. He tried to find a way to put it without telling Tsuna the truth of what had happened, without telling him about Yamamoto being a ghost. "But he is moving away soon, and I will never see him again." Pause. "What should I do?"

Tsuna stared at him. He could not help it. Gokudera was looking down at his hands, and something that looked suspiciously like a blush graced his features. He thought that Gokudera liked Yamamoto, so to see this... Well, it was not like Gokudera ever told him that he liked Yamamoto, so...

"Well," Tsuna said, "Have you told him that you liked him?"

Gokudera shook his head.

"Then tell him," Tsuna said simply.

"But-"

"Just tell him."

"But, but I will never see him again!" Gokudera protested. "What is the point of saying that if I don't get to see him again?"

"There is a point."

"But-"

"Gokudera," Tsuna said. "The reason why this bothers you is because you have not told him. So, tell him, or you'll never stop thinking about it."

Gokudera fell silent.

* * *

><p><em>Should I tell him?<em>

_Or should I not...?_

_But if I don't tell him..._

_But..._

* * *

><p>"Gokudera!"<p>

Gokudera's eyes snapped open and he nearly fell off of his bed at what he saw. "Yamamoto!"

Yamamoto was hovering above him, a grin on his face. "You're finally awake!"

He reached for his pillow and used it to smack Yamamoto in the face, only to have the pillow go right through him. Gokudera growled in frustration. Yamamoto only laughed at this, amused. "The fuck are you doing here, you idiot?" Gokudera hissed at him, his heart beating fast. How long had it been since he last hung out with Yamamoto? Over a week?

"Nn...?" Yamamoto blinked. "I am here to see you, of course. I missed you, Gokudera."

"Tch." He sat up, not bothering to reply to Yamamoto's last sentence, even if it did lift his heart. "The hell are you doing here? I never said that you could come in here."

"Because Gokudera is so cruel." The ghost pouted. "Gokudera has been ignoring me. Besides, you have never said that I am not allowed in here."

Oh, for the love of-

"That... That goes without saying, you idiot...!" Gokudera threw the pillow at him, once more forgetting that it would go right through him. The pillow hit the wall behind Yamamoto, and it fell to the floor with a soft thud.

Yamamoto laughed. "You're so funny...!"

Gokudera growled softly, glaring at him, but did not attempt to hit him again. He looked away. "Whatever. Do what you want."

He got out of his bed, stood up, and stretched.

Yamamoto had hopped off the bed and gone to sit down on the floor. He was back to attempting to make things levitate again. He had moved on to levitating boxes. The box that he was trying to levitate rose, and stayed in mid-air, albeit rather shakily, before dropping to the floor. It seemed that he had nearly mastered the technique.

"_It __is __better __to __have __told __him __your __feelings, __than __to __have __them __left __unsaid."_

Tsuna's words from the other day kept echoing in his mind.

Yamamoto pouted. "Just a bit more..."

"... Why the hell do you do that?" Gokudera asked suddenly, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

"Do what?"

"Levitate stuff."

"Oh." Yamamoto looked at the box, his expression falling. He made the box levitate, and this time, it stayed that way. It did not drop to the floor. For some reason, this only made his expression fall even more. He did not answer Gokudera's question.

"Oi... I asked you a question-"

"Would Gokudera like to hang out today?" Yamamoto said, interrupting him.

"What?"

"I was thinking that we could go watch a movie..."

The hell?

"And what? You're going to sit on some poor guy's seat with him and have him freeze to death?"

"Please, Gokudera?"

"Ah?"

"Please hang out with me?" He gave him his famous puppy dog look.

"That's not going to work on me, you idiot."

"Please...?" Tears actually leaked at the corners of Yamamoto's eyes, making his puppy dog look more effective. "Please, 'Dera~?"

* * *

><p>"<em>That's <em>_not __going __to __work __on __me, __you __idiot."_

Gokudera knew he had said it. He was sure of it. Those words _had_ left his lips.

So why was he here in the cinema, watching some movie with Yamamoto? Not only that, he had even bought a ticket for Yamamoto so that some poor fuck would not happen to sit on the ghost and freeze throughout the entire movie. He swore, if Yamamoto was solid, he would have long smacked that guy upside the head. So troublesome. Stupid ghost.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Gokudera?"

"Like fuck I am," Gokudera grumbled under his breath. "I am having a hell of a time talking to a ghost, and having people think that I'm talking to myself all the time."

Stupid, stupid ghost.

But...

He glanced at Yamamoto. A smile graced the ghost's features. He seemed to be enjoying himself.

The faintest hint of a smile rose on Gokudera's lips.

Well, if Yamamoto was happy, he supposed that this was not too bad.

* * *

><p>"Why the hell did he ask me to meet him there?" Gokudera grumbled to himself.<p>

He shifted the strap of his bag on his shoulder slightly as he made his way to the park that he had agreed to meet Yamamoto at. He had avoided coming to this place since this was where he was supposed to meet Yamamoto before he died. And to be honest, he would have flat out refused coming to meet him here if not for the fact that the idiot had pulled his puppy dog look on him again.

That damned bastard. He did not fight fair.

Gokudera sighed. Well, there was nothing else that he could do about it; he had already promised that he would meet him here.

"_Ne, __Gokudera... __This __is __nice, __isn't __it?"_

"_Huh? __Yeah, __I __suppose..."_

_They were lying down on a patch of grass while looking up at the stars. Many white diamonds dotted the black blanket of night sky. Though they did not speak, it was a comfortable silence. Even lying on this patch of grass was comfortable. So comfortable that it was pulling him into sleep._

"_Gokudera?"_

"_Hn." __Gokudera __turned __on __his __side, __his __back __to __Yamamoto, __irritated __that __the __ghost __ruined __his __about-to-be-sleep. __"What __is __it?"_

"_Let's __go __to __the __park __tomorrow~"_

"_Which __one?"_

"_The __one __that __we __were __supposed __to __meet __at __before __I __died."_

_Gokudera stiffened._

"_Gokudera...?"_

"_No," __he __answered, __glad __that __Yamamoto __could __not __see __his __expression, __"I __see __you __every__day. __I'm __sick __of __looking __at __your __face __already."_

_He could practically feel Yamamoto's pout radiate its way to where he lay._

"_Aww __that's __not __fair..."_

"_Nothing __in __life __is __fair."_

"_But..."_

"_Shut __it, __or __I'll __make __you."_

_"Gokudera..."_

_"I said 'no'."_

_And before he knew it, he felt something cold cross his face. His eyes snapped open and lo and behold, Yamamoto's puppy dog face was the first thing he saw._

"_Please,__'Dera?"_

_Th-this guy...!_

"_Oh, __for __fuck's __sake...!"_

Damned asshole. He knew that Gokudera could never refuse that face. _And_ that nickname.

"Idiot doesn't play fair," Gokudera muttered grumpily.

The moment he arrived at the park and saw the ghost sitting on one of the benches, waiting for him, though, all angry thoughts immediately flew out of his mind. And without him realizing it, the edges of his lips lifted in a smile. Yamamoto had his head bowed slightly, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked down at his hands. By his feet was a box. He must have been trying to make it levitate while waiting for Gokudera. There was something wrong with this picture, though. Yamamoto seemed rather subdued. He looked like he was in deep thought. A bit troubled, too.

And that was all it took for the smile on Gokudera's face to fade.

"Oi, baseball idiot," Gokudera said softly as he neared Yamamoto.

Yamamoto looked up, blinked, his expression softened and then a smile brightened up his features. But barely a second later, Yamamoto's smile dropped a little, and his expression lost most of its cheerfulness. He was still smiling, but there was something not right about this. And Gokudera did not like it. Not one bit.

"Hey, Gokudera," he said, with a smile, "You came."

"Che." Gokudera shifted the bag strap once more. "Of course I did, I did promise you that I'd come. What did you expect?"

"Ah, yes..." Yamamoto laughed, scratching the back of his neck.

Gokudera did not like that laugh. Nor did he like the way Yamamoto seemed to be so nervous; the ghost kept on shuffling his feet, and kicking at imaginary pebbles on the ground, as though to relieve some stress. He seemed restless.

"Oi..." Gokudera said when Yamamoto did not speak, nor look at him in the eye after awhile. "The fuck is wrong with you? You keep twitchin'."

"Twitchin'?" Yamamoto raised an eyebrow. "No, I don't."

"Yes, you do," he responded pointedly. "The hell is wrong, man? Is there something bothering you?"

Silence.

"Hey."

Yamamoto looked away.

"Hey, I'm talking to you."

Still nothing.

"Yamamoto Takeshi, tell me what the hell is wrong or I'll-"

"I'm going away soon."

...

Gokudera blinked.

Did he just hear that? He was not dreaming, was he?

"What?"

"I'm going away soon," Yamamoto repeated.

"..."

"Gokudera..."

Green eyes refused to meet the other's.

"Have you done whatever it is that you're supposed to do?" he said quietly.

"No..."

"Then there's no way that you could be going away. Heck, do you even know what the fuck it is that you're supposed to do in order to move on? You said that you don't know!"

... Silence.

"Hah," Gokudera said triumphantly, "I knew you-"

"I do."

"Wh-what?" he spluttered. "Come again?"

"I do know what it is that I'm supposed to do."

"You do...?"

Yamamoto nodded, a sad smile on his face. "I've known since the moment I became a ghost. I've known what it is that I'm supposed to do, have to do in order to move on. Right from the very beginning."

Th-this... this...

Gokudera choked, stepping backwards. The hell...? Yamamoto had lied to him...? And on top of that, he was going to go soon...? Gokudera could feel it. He could already feel the tears that were about to come. There was that familiar sting at the back of his throat...

"You lied to me...?"

"Gokudera..." Yamamoto said, biting his bottom lip. He still had that sad smile on his face. Gokudera hated that smile. That smile was wrong. It was not Yamamoto. It was not supposed to be there. It was... "Please."

The silver-haired teen clenched his fists. "What is it?" he said shakily. His voice was barely above a whisper, but Yamamoto heard it. "What is the reason that is keeping you from moving on?" He laughed, trying to mask what he was really feeling. "I bet that it has something to do with baseball."

Yamamoto shook his head.

"Milk?"

He shook his head again.

"Then what?" Gokudera sniggered. "Did you forget to pay someone back their money?"

"No, Gokudera," Yamamoto said, still smiling that sad smile. "It is you."

... What?

Gokudera stared at him, stunned.

When he did not reply, Yamamoto took a step forward. "Gokudera..." he began, "It has to do with you. With that day that I was supposed to meet you..."

"Ah?" Gokudera looked at him incredulously. "It can't be...! You must be mistaken. We've been hanging out nearly every single fucking day and you still have not moved on, and-"

"Gokudera," Yamamoto said, placing a finger on the Italian's lips, silencing him. He looked back at the box by the bench, then made it float towards them. "This," he said, "is one of the reasons that I have not moved on yet. I was supposed to give it to you that day, when we planned to have dinner at my house later."

The box floated towards Gokudera and landed gently onto his hands.

Just looking at the gift made Gokudera shake, his cool exterior beginning to crumble.

"One of the reasons...?" Gokudera said, his voice cracked. His throat felt raw from holding back his emotions, his tears. "Then what are the other reasons...?"

"Reason," Yamamoto murmured. He was caressing Gokudera's hair. Though Gokudera could not feel it, it certainly made him feel much better. "The other reason is that I wanted to tell you something."

"Tell me something?" Gokudera's grip tightened on the box. "What...?"

"Gokudera," Yamamoto said, his voice clear and gentle. He was still caressing his hair. "I love you."

As soon as the words left his lips, Yamamoto began to fade.

"Wh-what?" Gokudera said, unable to believe his ears.

"I love you, Gokudera Hayato." Caress. "I really do."

Without warning, the tears spilled forth. They leaked out of green eyes, then trickled down his cheeks. And the worst part? He could not stop them.

Good God he could not believe that he was crying. In front of Yamamoto, too!

"Gokudera... Shh..." The ghost tried to soothe him. "Please don't cry..."

"Idiot...!" he choked out. "You tell me not to cry when you're disappearing right before my eyes...! The hell is wrong with you?"

"Gokudera..."

A few tears dropped to the ground.

_Say it. Just fucking say it._

"'Dera..."

Yamamoto continued to fade. Gokudera could not believe this. He knew that this day would come but...

"_It __is __better __to __have __told __him __your __feelings, __than __to __have __them __left __unsaid."_

"Yamamoto, you..."

Choke.

"I..."

"_It __is __better __to __have __told __him __your __feelings, __than __to __have __them __left __unsaid."_

"I lo-"

He squeezed his eyes shut, causing more tears to leak out.

"_It __is __better __to __have __told __him __your __feelings, __than __to __have __them __left __unsaid."_

Seeing Gokudera struggle with his words, Yamamoto shook his head. "It's okay, Gokudera," he said kindly. He put up his hand, his palm facing Gokudera. In turn, the silver-haired teen raised his own hand, and placed it against Yamamoto's.

It was cold. So, so cold. Somehow, this only managed to break Gokudera even more. Yamamoto was about to disappear, and he could not even _feel _Yamamoto. How cruel was that?

"Shh..." Yamamoto leaned forward, and pressed his lips against Gokudera's.

Again, Gokudera could not feel anything. Just the coldness of his touch. It tore him up on the inside. It hurt that Yamamoto was so close, but he could not feel him at all. But at the same time, it was the best thing that he had ever felt; he did not even want Yamamoto to pull away. And when he did, Gokudera felt more tears trickle down his cheeks.

No, just...

"Take care of yourself, 'Dera," Yamamoto murmured, his lips mere inches from his own, before taking a step back.

Yamamoto was nearly transparent now.

"_It __is __better __to __have __told __him __your __feelings, __than __to __have __them __left __unsaid."_

The ghost closed his eyes, ready to move on.

_Fuck, just say it already...!_

"Yamamoto!"

Yamamoto opened his eyes and looked at him. "Hm?"

He choked. "I love you...!" He trembled, the tears falling down without control. "I love you too, Takeshi...!

Yamamoto blinked, startled, and then he smiled. A real smile. Not the one that he hated. He liked this smile.

"Hayato..." He reached out to touch Gokudera once more.

Gokudera held his breath in anticipation, but before Yamamoto could touch him, he was gone. Yamamoto had completely disappeared.

Gone without a trace.

* * *

><p><strong>-EPILOGUE-<strong>

It had been over a month since Yamamoto moved on, and Gokudera still did not open the box that was given to him. After Yamamoto left, Gokudera cried. He cried so much that he could not think anymore. And when he returned home, he cried some more. He had never cried so hard in his entire life. He was happy for Yamamoto, and it felt good finally telling him how he felt about him, but at the same time, being left behind again...

Gokudera took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He rubbed his thumb against the edge of the box, wondering what was inside.

Over a month, and not once did he dare open it, fearing that whatever it was that was inside would make him tear up again. Though he was still sad, and he still remembered Yamamoto as clear as day, he was finally ready to open the box.

Another deep breath.

He opened the box. Gokudera blinked, staring at what was inside it.

It was Yamamoto's jacket.

The very same one that Yamamoto had lent to Gokudera when he was feeling cold.

That guy...

Gokudera smiled, touched.

Yamamoto remembered.

* * *

><p><strong>DIOR:<strong> Hey, there! It has been awhile, hasn't it? So, anyway, yeap, I'm not dead. Just got sucked into RL for a bit OTL. I actually wrote this fic well over a year ago, but some stuff happened, and then I kept forgetting to post it here because I'm forgetful like that *laughs* I have a similar one-shot fic in the works right now, and it's... well, if you follow me and if you've read my Bleach fics, you'd be able to guess what pairing it's on. Hopefully, it won't take me over a year to post that one XD Anywho, I hope you all enjoyed this fic! Reviews are appreciated :3


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